The Path of Fate
by maceywoo
Summary: This is the story of Jacob and Ness. Even though Jacob imprinted on her, did she have a choice in the matter? Their path was not always smooth. Disclaimer: The majority of the characters belong to Stephenie Meyer. I was just sad to see it end.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Changing

I stopped to study my face in the mirror. I had gotten so use to doing that everyday but for the last year, there had been no detectable difference. This time it was just a glance not my usual scrutiny. I wondered if Jacob would see a difference that I didn't. He had been gone a week and I missed him terribly. Jacob was my very best friend but this summer things seemed different between us, at least for me. Suddenly I was shy around him. I thought about him all the time. I didn't know where this was coming from and it was making me more than a little crazy not knowing if he felt this way toward me. There were times when I thought maybe but I was never really sure. It wasn't like I could just come out and ask him.

Tonight was going to be fun. There was a big beach party down by LaPush and Jake had promised he would be back to take me. Alice and Rosalie had taken me shopping and I had gotten an awesome bikini. I was hoping Jacob would notice that and hopefully my parents wouldn't. There was history between the three of them which they all seemed reluctant to share.

I shoved my cover up and towel in my bag. Then I heard Jacob's booming laugh and raced downstairs. He and Rosalie were sparring. They had a love- hate relationship. Well, I'm not sure about the love part. Maybe a tolerate- hate relationship, I mused.

"Don't you knock, dog?" Rosalie sneered. Jacob laughed and said, "Well, I wasn't sure you knew how to open a door, Blondie."

"Oh, too funny." Rosalie said dryly.

"Hi Jake," I quickly interceded. "Hi Ness." Jake said.

"I'm all ready," I told him, holding up my bag. Edward appeared in the door.

"So what time will you be home?" Edward said in a serious voice. I rolled my eyes.

"Home by midnight," Jacob said to him with a shrug of his shoulders. Edward just nodded. "Everything ok on your trip, Jacob?" Edward asked with a tone of concern in his voice. This had me looking toward Jacob. I knew that he and Sam had gone to visit a tribe in New Mexico that had contacted them recently. They were claiming that some of them had changed into werewolves too. The Quilleutes were unconvinced of this. I wonder what he had found out but Jacob just nodded his head slowly. "Yes, it is going to require more investigation though." Edward nodded back intently and I was sure Jacob was telling him more and Edward was reading it in his head. I hated when they did that.

"Bye Dad." I said while I popped a quick kiss on his cheek. "See you tonight."

"Have a good time, love." Edward said and stroked my cheek.

Jacob and I got in his car. "This is so cool, Jacob!" I exclaimed. Jake had just restored a 1980's BMW. "Thanks" he grinned. "I just got it done." He revved the engine and speed out of the drive.

We had to stop and pick up some of the food at Emily's. Two coolers were packed full of food and two more held the drinks. Emily had gone all out. Everything would be gone in minutes with these huge werewolves.

Quil, Embry, Seth and Paul were already at the beach when we pulled up. Jacob recruited them to haul out the coolers. "Why don't you hang out with the girls while we get the bonfire going, "Jacob said. "Ok," I said and striped off my t-shirt and shorts. Jacobs head snapped up. "What is that?" he said in a harsh whisper. "What is what?" I said looking around. He pointed to my bikini. "You like it? " I asked, "It's new. Alice, Rose and I went shopping." "There's barely anything to like, "he said in a annoyed tone. I threw him a dirty look, took my towel and walked to where Kim and the other girls were laying out. Secretly, I was glad he had noticed.

Later Jacob, Seth and I started playing Frisbee keep away with Seth in the middle. He could jump incredibly high and before 10 minutes had passed, he snagged the Frisbee I threw toward Jacob.

"Ok, your turn in the middle, Ness, "Seth called cheerfully. I was miserable at this game and soon Seth and Jacob were tossing the Frisbee casually between them. Seth threw the Frisbee low and I ran backward. Jacob wasn't paying attention and I slammed into him. He grabbed me around the waist and we both fell back laughing. I turned over and grabbed the Frisbee laying by Jake's head. "Hey, I got the Frisbee, "I said gleefully.

"You can't count that," Jacob scoffed. "Hey you two done making out over there or what, "Seth called. We both blushed. "So I think it's your turn now," I said to Jake. By the time we got up and looked for Seth, he had gone over to sit with the girls. "Guess the games over." Jake said ruefully.

"Hey, you want to go for a walk?" Jake asked. It was near dusk now and the elders should be arriving soon to tell the stories. I always looked forward to that part.

"So did your parents decide about you starting school?" Jake asked.

"Yes," I said," I am going to start this fall. Now I don't know if I am excited or scared," I laughed. I had lobbied hard to be able to start school either in LaPush or Forks. I would start as a junior and our story was going to be that I was a relative of Edward, staying with Carlisle and Esmee. I spent all day with my vampire family and felt that I understood that half of me. The only true human that I was around on any regular basis was Grandpa Charlie and I am not sure you could call him a well rounded study in human emotions. The thought made me smile. I loved Grandpa Charlie to pieces. You could just be yourself with him.

"So what did you find out about the New Mexico tribe?' I asked curiously.

"Not much really, "Jacob said thoughtfully. "There is a female leader and 5 other males that reportedly are werewolves. We didn't contact them directly. There is just something odd about all of this."

"Didn't old Quileutera say that there were some Quileutes who left the tribe years ago?" I queried.

"Umm, yeah, that's what he said but why are they contacting us and why now? And most importantly what made them transform?" Jake said.

"Good questions," I nodded, "so what now?"

"We are going to go back for a second scouting visit and maybe talk to them." Jacob said. My face fell. "When do you have to leave?" I said, pouting but trying not to sound like it. "Oh, I don't know," Jake said, throwing a rock out into the waves, "probably not till the fall. The elders are trying to gather some more information too."

I sighed with relief. We walked back and the elders were there. The food was being devoured and Jake joined in. I had never imagined that one person could eat so much. He looked at me apologetically. I laughed.

Then everyone settled around the fire and Billy, Jacob's father started with the old tribe stories. It was cool by then and I moved toward Jacob, who was always so warm. He moved his legs and I scooted back and leaned against his chest. My mom was right. The stories felt like magic but too soon they were over. One by one everyone got up and stated cleaning up. Jake asked Billy the time. It was only 10:40pm.

"Ness and I will stay and make sure the fire is out." Jacob told the others. He turned toward me, "Is that ok?" I nodded and got up to help pack up some of the empty dishes. When everyone was gone, I sat back by Jacob.

"I love those stories, "I smiled, "I never get tired of hearing them."

"Me either," Jacob agreed. We sat quietly for a while, listening to the waves and watching the sparks from the fire fly out. I turned my head and at the same time, Jacob and I spoke, "this is a perfect night." We laughed and then Jacob grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me. I was frozen for just a minute and then I sighed into his lips. He pulled his face away from and looked at me with such a questioning stare. It reminded me of Grandpa Carlisle when he was inspecting me for any changes in my person, like I was under a microscope. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to say anything. Everything that went through my mind sounded ridiculous. "I'm sorry, Ness." Jacob said at last.

"Sorry?" I questioned, "For what?" He raised his eyebrows. "Well, that didn't feel wrong to me." I stated. His eyebrows just pulled together. "But maybe we should try it again," I whispered, taking matters into my own hands. My eyes closed and I leaned into him. My arms went around his neck. His hair was so silky and I wound my fingers through it. This time, I pulled back. "Yep, nothing to be sorry for." I said lightly with a smile.

Jacob didn't say anything but I wished he would. I wished he would tell me what he was thinking. Maybe I was a horrible kisser. "Jake," I started to say. He stood suddenly and grabbed my hand to pull me up. Then he turned and started kicking sand on what was left of the fire. "It's pretty late and I had better get you home," he said matter of factly. I got my bag and headed for the car. This was one of those times when I really longed for a girlfriend who I could hash all this out with tomorrow. Having a friend was one of the things I was hoping high school would provide. Maybe I could talk to Alice, I mused on my way to the car.

We drove home making small talk about the bonfire. Jacob walked me to the porch and gave me a small kiss on the lips before sprinting off the stairs. Hoping I could sneak up to my room, I tiptoed as quietly as possible toward the stairs.

"Did you have a good time, "my mom asked appearing out of no where. I grimaced. This is one of the drawbacks of being the only person who required sleep in the house.

"It was fun." I said trying to keep my voice light. Bella studied my face for a minute. "How were Jacob and Billy?" she asked.

"Fine. Mom, I'm pretty tired. I will give you all the details in the morning." I said quickly kissing her cheek. She hugged me and stroked me hair. "I'm holding you to that," she laughed.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Searching

The next few days Jacob seemed to be avoiding me and that was really irritating me. He could just tell me if kissing me had been a mistake on his part. Everyone always treated me like a child so I decided that I was going to confront him myself. But then early one Saturday morning, Jacob rang the doorbell. "Hi, Jake," I said a little coolly. Jacob kissed my nose distractedly.

"I need to talk to your Dad," he said.

"OK, they are in the kitchen," I said curiously.

"Morning, Jacob," said Esmee in a cheery tone.

"Hi," Jacob smiled grimly back at her. I could see her face became curious too. "I needed to ask you if any of your, er, friends have been around here lately," Jacob said hesitantly.

Edward shook his head no and said," Why?"

"There are two boys from the tribe missing. They went hiking yesterday afternoon and have never come home;" Jacob said seriously, "Sam and Seth went out this morning as soon as we heard. They found an unusual scent. No really a vampire scent though. They just weren't sure what to make of it. We are all going out now and just wanted to be prepared."

Edward turned toward Alice who was sitting at the table. He raised his eyebrows. Alice closed her eyes briefly and then shook her head," No, no one is coming that I can see."

"We'll help, Jacob," said Carlisle in an earnest voice.

"Thanks, Carlisle, that would really help," Jacob said appreciatively. "I'll come too," said Jasper standing up. Jacob looked at him for a long moment. "That would be great, Jasper," Jacob murmured.

"I want to help too," I said quickly, "Mom do you want to come with me." Bella nodded and went to get her shoes. Edward replied," I'll go with Jacob so we can communicate with the pack." Jacob was already rolling a map out on the table. It was cordoned off in a pie shape and he indicated which slice each twosome should take.

When we were all assembled on the porch with our gear, Jacob told us," I'm going to change now so I can let the pack know what is going on." His arms started to quiver. Edward gave him a stern look. "Oh, yeah, ladies present. Sorry," he grinned. He took off into the forest a few feet away and soon a huge russet colored wolf returned.

Edward and Jacob ran for the first 30 minutes and then slowed to a walk, listening for any voices or signs of the boys. "I want to date your daughter," Jacob thought. Edward's eyebrows furrowed.

"Are you asking my permission or just telling me?" Edward said in a tight voice.

"I would like your approval for Ness's sake but I don't need your permission," Jacob thought.

"I thought we discussed this Jacob, I want her to have a choice. It's why we agreed—all agreed, that we weren't going to tell her about you imprinting," Edward said quietly but firmly.

"What if I am her choice? Have you considered that or is that just too hideous?" Jacob thought in a bitter voice. Edward didn't say anything for a minute and looked at the wolf next to him.

"I know she may choose you and really, I will be fine with that. It's just that I want her to be able to choose. To have somewhat of a normal life, "Edward said calmly.

"Normal?" Jacob thought sarcastically, "Normal? Did her life ever have a chance to be normal? Her parents are vampires and she is a half vampire. She drinks human blood Edward. How would you explain that to Joe Schmo?" Edward sighed heavily.

"Let's just see." He said.

"Lets," thought Jacob. They walked quietly together and then started a conversation on other topics. Suddenly Edward heard Bella call to him. He told Jacob and they took off at a sprint.

Mom and I had been walking for about 2 hours when I head a noise. "Mom," I said and put my hand on her arm to stop her," I thought I heard voices." We both stood very still.

"I think they are coming from in there," Bella motioned to a especially dense patch of forest. We both glanced at the sky briefly when a few raindrops fell.

Jogging forward with the flashlight in my hand, I saw a opening in the ground. "Shawn! Noah!" I called.

"We're here, we're down here!" a frantic voice said. The flashlight shown down into a deep ravine or pit on to the boys faces.

"It's me, Ness. We've come to get you out." I said in a relieved voice.

"Ness? Jacob's girlfriend?" Noah asked. My face grew hot at the word girlfriend.

"Yes, that's me and my mom is here. The others will be here soon too. Are you OK?" I peered down further into the ravine.

"Shawn is hurt. I think his leg is broken," Noah said in an anxious voice. Low moaning came from the pit.

"We'll get you out. Can you stand to one side so I can jump down?" I called.

Bella called to Edward then, in a voice that you would use to call someone a few rooms away. I knew they would hear though. I jumped down into the pit. The bottom had an inch or two of water from the previous night's rain. The boys were soaking wet and shivering. Bella threw a rope down then. "Noah, grab the rope and my mom will pull you up. Can you do that?" I hoped.

"The walls are really slick and slimy from the rain. We tried crawling out before," Noah replied.

"That's OK, my mom is really strong. Just hold onto the rope and push with your feet a little." I knew that mom could have pulled him out like a doll but that might make him a little suspicious since she was pretty small. "Mom, he's ready," I shouted up. Noah nearly flew out of the pit.

"Wow, you are strong, Mrs. Cullen," I heard Noah say.

Bella chuckled," I work out a lot. Ness, can we get Shawn out." Shawn was incoherent and his leg was lying at an odd angle. I was hoping Grandpa Carlisle would get here to take a look at him. No sooner than I thought this, Grandpa leapt down into the ravine with his first aid kit.

"He needs to have his leg splinted and then I can get him out of here," he said in a serious voice. After finishing the splint, Carlisle scooped the unconscious boy up in his arms and lept gracefully out of the pit. Good thing the kid was unconscious I thought or he would have been freaking out. Edward and Jacob were there too.

"They both need to go to the hospital," Carlisle said, "Jacob, can you have someone tell their parents to meet us there?"

The russet wolf nodded and gave a low bark and became a blur ahead of us. Jasper carried Shawn out of the forest and Edward carried Noah. Carlisle would have them pause every once in a while and check the boys. Noah had quickly fallen asleep in Jasper's arms from dehydration and exhaustion Carlisle had said. Once we arrived at the base, Sam had his SUV there and the boys lay in the back with Carlisle between them. Jacob had turned back into his human form.

"Thanks for your help today," he said to Edward and Jasper. Edward just nodded but Jasper and Jacob grasped hands, pulled in to each others chest and patted each other on the back.

"We make a good team, us vamps and you wolves," Jasper mused. Mom and I looked at each other and rolled our eyes.

"Let's head home," Bella said as she reached for Edward's hand.

"I'll give Ness a ride home," Jacob said and then looked at me. "OK with you?"

"Sure," I nodded agreeably. Edward's eyes narrowed as he watched Ness and Jacob walk away.

"He asked if he could date her today," Edward said quietly still watching the couple.

"Edward, he is a really decent guy. You know that," Bella said in a firm tone.

"I know but I just want her to have a normal life. She is going to go to school now and make new friends and….." his voice trailed off.

"Oh, Edward," Bella laughed, "Normal isn't always what it is cracked up to be, remember?. He loves her."

"I know that," Edward agreed.

"No, Edward, he loves her like I love you," she looked at him pointedly. Edward grimaced and sighed.

"Race you home," Bella grinned. Edward shook his head and became a blur.

It was dark when we pulled up to the house. "You want to come in?" I said hopefully.

"No, I should go check on the boys but I'll see you tomorrow OK? You and Bella were awesome today, "he said grinning widely. He pulled me close and kissed me. Gentle at first but then it turned deeper. He left my lips and kissed my jaw and my ear and then back to my mouth. It took me a few seconds to open my eyes once he stopped and I was sure I was pouting. "See you tomorrow. Sweet dreams," he said quietly.

A little dazed I opened the door and mumbled, "Good night."

10 days later the representatives from the New Mexico tribe showed up. Colleen was the alpha leader and then there was Dane and Trey. I was dying to meet them but Jacob was hesitant to bring me to the reservation until they found out what they knew and how they felt about vampires. Jacob also didn't have much time to come here since they were running constant patrols following Noah and Shawn's ordeal. Charlie and the police were on alert too.

The boys told them that they had gone hiking, which they did frequently. They found a stream and decided to swim. Once they got back to where they had left their gear, it was gone. They had enough experience that they did notice a trail and they swore they heard human voices. At first they thought maybe it was their friends playing a joke. That was until they fell into the ravine.

When Jacob and the pack went to look at the ravine the next day, it was actually a pit that someone or something had dug. Then it had been covered with branches. Noah also said that the first day after they had fallen into the pit, he had heard voices again. He called out many times but no one came or answered back. The conclusion of the pack and my family was that someone had done that purposefully. Maybe they were just trying to catch an animal but it was odd that no one had check back on their trap.

School was going to start soon and that took my mind of the visitors and the mystery of the trap. I was now much more nervous than excited. People were going to notice I was different. I was positive I would have no friends. I fretted about this everyday and no amount of assurance made me feel any better. "People are going to notice I don't eat," I whined.

"Problem solved," Alice said happily one morning. She pulled out a large aluminum to-go container. "Pour you blood in this and no one will know. It's so dark you can tell them it's an energy drink or something." I rolled my eyes.

My entire family was "vegetarians", their little joke since they only consumed animal blood. The problem with me was that I was not venomous so I really couldn't hunt animals. Luckily Carlisle was a physician and he was able to get me donated human blood. "Maybe it will work," I pouted.

For all my worrying, school turned out to be great fun. On my first day, I meet a girl named Anna. She and I had nearly every class together and both our last names started with a C so we were seated together too. Anna was happy person and very laid back. With Jacob gone, I had a lot of free time so Anna and I signed up for the Fine Arts Club at school. She also convinced me to try out for cheerleading. We both made it and practices took up a huge amount of time.

Before I knew it Homecoming was here. I was sad that Jacob was still not back. Anna had a boyfriend Alex and they both tried to set me up with one of his friends. I didn't really want to go with any of them and I don't they any of them wanted to go with me.

Most people gave me a wide berth, like they knew I was different. One or two of Anna's friends seemed to accept me into their group. I discussed it a few times at home. Alice seemed to understand and told me that she had never made a real human friend until my mom. Rosalie just wondered why I bothered and told me they were jealous. Emmett told me he would take care of anyone who was mean to me. I know he meant to be scary but when he wagged his eyebrows that way and growled, I just burst out laughing.

In the end, Anna and Alex invited me to ride along. They dropped me off after the dance and as I was waving goodbye, I noticed someone sitting on the porch steps.

"Jacob," I yelled and flung myself into his arms. I grabbed his face and kissed him all over. "I am so glad your back." I said almost giddy to see him.

"Umm, maybe I should be away more often, "he said as he kissed my neck. He held me away from him and looked at me. "Wow, Ness, you look beautiful." I did a little twirl and the midnight blue silky material of my dress swirled around my legs.

"Alice helped me pick this out of course," I said.

"Hey, do you want to go down to the beach for a while, "he asked.

"That be great," I smiled as I was running up to the door. I wrote a quick note and we left.

My sandals swung from one hand has we walked on the beach. "Tell me about school." Jacob said. Rambling on and on, I told him about Anna, cheerleading, my teachers and my other friends. He listened but it really seemed like his mind was elsewhere.

"Tell me about the new Mexico tribe," I murmured when I had finally exhausted school topics. He shrugged.

"I still don't know what to think. Colleen, their alpha leader, seems nice enough but we never found any vampires in their area. We never heard them talk of any either. So what made them change? I want to talk to your dad and Carlisle about that," he said staring at the waves.

"How are Shawn and Noah? Have you found out who dug that pit?" I asked.

"The guys are fine. Shawn's leg is still in a cast but I think it will be off soon. We haven't found out any other info," Jacob said soberly.

"Lets not talk about all that tonight," he told me while pulling something from his pocket. "I'm sorry I missed your birthday. I got you a little something." It was a necklace carved with intertwining R and C and on the end of the C, there was a small howling wolf carved into it.

"Jacob, its beautiful. Did you do this?" I said in an awed voice.

"Yes, no big deal," he told me in an embarrassed voice.

"Put it on me," I demanded. He swung me up on a large flat rock. I turned and lifted my hair for him. Once the necklace was on, he kissed my neck and slowly, I turned back to him.

"I love you, Ness," Jacob's voice was husky now. Tears filled my eyes.

"Me too, me too," was all I could manage.

A few days later, I got to meet the New Mexico wolves. Jacob took me to a dinner at Emily and Sam's. Colleen was beautiful. She had creamy skin with huge almond eyes. She was very exotic looking. Dane and Trey were huge and reminded me of some of the LaPush boys. They all seemed pleasant enough but somewhat standoffish. Colleen came and sat next to me on the sofa after dinner.

"You are Jacob Black's girlfriend?" she said questioningly.

"Yes," I nodded. Girlfriend still sounded so, so shallow. He had been my constant companion for all of my life. My friend, playmate and confidant when I was little. Now I felt like so much more to Jacob than just a girlfriend but I didn't know a better word. Her next words broke into my little reverie.

"You helped to find the two lost boys a few weeks ago," she questioned me again. I nodded again. "It was so lucky that they were found," she said but her tone made me think she was happy that they were found.

Now why would she sound like that I thought. Colleen was looking at me intently, like she was studying my face. It made me nervous and I excused myself to the bathroom. When I came out, I made a point to avoid her but all night long, I could feel her eyes following me around the room.

Jacob was playing cards with a group and when I walked over he pulled me into his lap. At that moment I looked up to see Colleen, Dane and Trey staring at Jacob and I, eyes narrowed. I shuddered. Jacob looked at me.

He threw his cards down," guys, we need to get going." I protested but Jacob got my coat and to be honest, I was glad to be out of the room with the Utah crew. As we drove home, I debated on saying something to Jacob but he seemed to have warmed up to them and he would probably just laugh at me. A day or two later, I never gave it a second thought.

The following week an 8 year old LaPush boy went missing and the werewolves went looking for him. It took them days to find him. He was dehydrated and unharmed at the base of the mountain. He said he was playing hide and seek with a group of boys. He thought he heard them call to him from the forest and ran in there but he never found them. He became disoriented and couldn't find his way out.

Apparently the Utah tribe had been a big help in locating the boy. I was at the hospital with Grandpa Carlisle getting my blood supply when they brought him in. The boy's parents went over to Jacob and Colleen and hugged them both.

"Thank you, thank you for finding him," the boy's mother sobbed. Jacob looked embarrassed but I thought Colleen was soaking up the attention. She put her arm around Jacob.

"Jake and I make a fantastic team," she purred. Jake now, is it, I thought sourly. Jacob just looked down and put his knuckles out to her which she tapped back enthusiastically. I went out the side door and didn't get to talk with Jacob. Walking into a room with a cooler full of blood packets tends to raise some eyebrows.

Over the next few days, all I heard from Jacob was what a skilled tracker Colleen was. How she had good instincts. If I heard how wonderful she was one more time I would scream.

Luckily Thanksgiving wasn't far off and hopefully I would get to spend some alone time with Jacob. One weekend, I rode down to Billy's with Charlie. I asked him about all the disappearances but there didn't seem to be an leads. Billy told me that Jake was in the shed. I heard the boys talking and something stopped me from entering.

"So Jake, you gonna "mate" with Colleen." Quil said with a snicker. Jake shot daggers at him.

"Well, that's what they want, right? Somebody to help them beef up their pack," Embry said in Quil's defense. I was listening intently but nobody seemed to answer. Umm, I thought, that was interesting. Why did they need help strengthening their pack?

Then Jake said to Embry, "get over here and hold the pan up for me." Car talk ensued. Guess I wasn't going to hear any thing else and I cleared my throat and walked into the small dimly light shed.

"Hi guys," I said hoping my voice sounded normal. Jake looked up from under the hood of the "66 Vette and smiled. Embry looked up too but hit his head on the hood. We all laughed.

"I'm almost through here," Jake told me.

"Take your time," I said as I sat on the floor with my knees to my chest. Car talk returned and I was happy with that so that my mind could process what I just heard. Colleen wanted to "mate" with Jacob. My Jacob? I grimaced. That was disgusting. Over her dead body, I thought viciously. I noticed the silence then and my head snapped up. I blushed when I saw they were all staring at me.

"What?" I said.

"You were mumbling to yourself, Ness," Jacob said amused.

"Sorry," I said embarrassed.

"Hey, let's go in and get something to eat," Jacob said wiping his dirty hands on a towel.

Turned out we were going to cookout at Emily and Sam's. I was carrying a cooler to the house when I saw Colleen looking at me. I couldn't make myself smile at her. She smiled at me though. It wasn't at all friendly. It seemed just a little malicious. I shuddered. "You chilly?" Jake asked looking at me concerned. Shaking my head, I looked away from Colleen.

When we put the coolers on the table, I whispered to Jacob," Does she know what I am?" I turned to look into Jacob's eyes. He took my face in his hands and touched my lips lightly.

"What you are?" he whispered at my ear," my girlfriend or a half vampire?" My heart did a happy little tap dance at the word girlfriend.

"Both." I said against his neck.

"Not sure that we have ever discussed the first one and definitely no, on the second one. The pack will keep your secret. You don't have to worry," Jacob said as he pulled away from me and took my hand.

Maybe it was my imagination but for the rest of the night, I felt Colleen constantly trying to get Jake's attention. As I paid more attention, I noticed Colleen also trying to get close to Sam.

"Ow," I head a silky voice say. As I turned toward it, I saw Colleen holding her finger with a drop of blood at its tip. Jake was standing close to her and grabbed a towel and Colleen's finger.

"This is pretty deep," Jake said.

"Don't worry I heal quickly she purred but I noticed she did not take her hand out of Jake's. Leah handed Jake a first aid kit and he bandaged up her finger. Colleen put her arms around Jacob's neck, ran her hand down his hair and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Thanks Jacob," she purred.

Heat was building in me and I was at this very moment wishing I was venomous and could rip out her throat. I was certain I could convince Emmett to do it for me. My parents might ground me for forever but I didn't care.

Jake dropped her hand then and stepped back. He had an odd look on his face that I couldn't read. He turned to find Sam then and they both walked toward the house. Colleen stared after them for a brief minute and then turned to smile smugly at me. My eyes narrowed. I would beg Emmett and Jasper if I had to, I thought acidly.

I found a way to spend nearly everyday with Jacob after that. No way was Colleen getting her paws on my Jacob. We spent time in his garage working on the Vette or walking on the beach or just hanging out with the rest of the pack. One night we decided to hang out at Jake's house and watch a movie. Billy was at Charlie's watching football. The movie was a sci-fi thriller. A giant hairy spider leapt out of a cave and I jumped. Jake pulled me closer, laughing.

"Ness, you are scared of spiders," he said chortling, "You live with vampires and your boyfriend is a werewolf."

"Spiders are creepy and that thing is huge," I said glancing toward the TV. The credits rolled by on the movie and I leaned forward to flip back to regular TV. A newsman was speaking about a financial report. Jake was stuffing his mouth with the last of the popcorn.

"Jacob, what's imprinting?" I said, trying to keep my tone light. Jacob's hand went still halfway to his mouth and then he dropped the popcorn back to the bowl.

"Where did you hear that?" Jacob said quietly.

"Umm, Quil and the guys were talking about it the other day at the beach. It sounded like it involved a girl but I didn't understand what they were talking about exactly," I looked at him curiously. He face was pensive.

"It's a wolf thing," he said in a hesitant voice. I could tell he was choosing his words and that made me even more curious. I looked toward him, expectantly. He sighed and reached up to take a swig of soda.

"I'm not sure how to explain it. You see someone and know that they are the person you are going to spend the rest of your life with. They are your other half," he told me.

"Like your soul mate?" I said, thinking of how my mom described my dad sometimes.

"Yeah, like a soul mate," Jacob agreed.

"How do you know who its going to be?" I asked him.

"You don't know. It just sort of, uh, happens. You see them and boom, you just know. Everyone and everything become second place then, " he replied face serious. We both sat thinking and not looking at each other for just a minute. I crawled away from the TV and into his lap but didn't look at him. He took my chin and tipped it up to my face.

"You are my everything," he said in a hushed voice.

He touched his lips to mine and it felt like electricity passed between us, like I would start on fire if I didn't touch him. My hands went to his hair and an the image of Colleen running her hands down Jacob's hair flashed into my mind. It dissolved quickly when Jake's hands went under my shirt.

We both groaned loudly when a short while later, Billy's voice sounded outside.

"Thanks for the ride, Charlie. Great game, huh? See ya later."

"Guess that is my cue to take you home," Jacob breathed in my ear. I gathered my jacket and bag from the counter and headed toward the door.

"Have a fun time with Grandpa?"I inquired as I raced toward the door, hoping he wouldn't notice my disheveled hair.

One of Billy's eyebrows raised and I heard Jacob say, "Great timing, Dad," in a sarcastic voice.

"Sorry, kid," Billy chuckled.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Traveling

Days later, Colleen seemed the least of my worries. When I got up that morning and came into the kitchen, my family was staring at a letter as if it was going to bite them. "Mom?" I said concerned, "what's going on?"

Everyone startled and I knew it must be bad. That was hard to do to any of them, especially Alice.

"We are going to have to take a trip," Grandpa Carlisle said quietly.

"A trip?" I said perplexed. That was all, I thought, confused. "Where and when?" I asked as I reached into the fridge for my food. I wrinkled my nose, only packets of B+, definitely not my favorite. It tasted sort of salty. I grabbed the packet and turned to the cabinet.

As I took a glass out, Carlisle said," Italy." The cup drop from my hands and shattered on the floor.

"Don't move," Bella said and she had the glass cleaned up in seconds. I turned toward Grandpa Carlisle as she was dumping the shards into the trash. I looked at him questioningly.

"Yes, the Volturi has invited us to visit," Carlisle said in a calm voice.

Flashes of vampires with ghostly white skin in long flowing black robes flashed into my mind. I had not seen them since I was an infant but I heard my family discuss them enough to be afraid. "Why?" I said in a voice just above a whisper, "They want me?"

Edward was at my side then and took me in his arms, carrying me to a chair near the table. He was stroking my hair. "They just want to meet you, Renesmee. That's all," Edward said softly.

I looked at him skeptically and I could see that the others weren't convinced of this either.

"Alice," said Bella," What do you see?"

Alice frowned and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she had a smile on her face. "They do just want to see her. I see us all coming home after a few days." Shoulders visibly relaxed then but not mine. I didn't want to go to Italy.

"Send a note that we will be there after Christmas. Tell them Renesmee is in school till then and we want to keep up our appearances. They will understand this and it will give us a little time to prepare," Carlisle said.

A week before Christmas, Esmee asked if Jake and I would get a Christmas tree from the forest. We headed out in the snow with Jacob complaining about the Italy trip for the hundredth time.

"I'm going with you, Ness," he said firmly.

"Jacob," I said in an exasperated tone," you can't go with me. They would kill you. It's only going to be for a few days anyway. Jacob made a growling sound in his throat. "Plus, absence makes the heart grow fonder, right?" I tried to laugh.

In truth, I hated the thought of being away from Jacob that long too. We were a good way into the forest now and Jake grabbed me hand saying," I don't think I can grow any fonder." A second later I felt something wet and cold hit my ear.

"You jerk. What a way to show me," I shouted as he started to lob another snowball at me. I picked up a handful of snow and Jacob ran behind a tree. Something moved a few feet away.

Jacob was back to my side in a minute, standing in front of me. 3 wolves stepped out from the shadows. There was a dark black wolf that was smaller than the other two but stood in front.

Jacob said, "Colleen and her boys," in a voice only I could hear. "Ness, take the tree back home." He never looked at me.

"No, Jake. I'm staying with you."

"Don't argue, Ness. Something must be going on. I will call you later.

He arms were shaking now and I knew that in seconds he was going to become a werewolf. He started to run and within just a few feet, where Jacob had been was now a huge russet color wolf. He looked back at me once and I touched my fingers to my lips and then toward him before I turned.

I reached the tree we had decided on and grappled with the trunk. Fortunately for me, the half vampire side was very strong and I was home soon. Alice saw me from the window and stepped out to help me drag the tree up the porch.

"Where's Jacob?" she said puzzled.

"He had to go. Looks like their may be something going on at the reservation," I said in a worried voice. Alice and I both wished she could see what was going on with the wolves but they were blinded to her.

Jake did not call that night and I slept little. The phone rang early the next morning and I sighed with relief until I heard the voice on the other end of the line. It was Emily.

"Ness, Jake wanted me to call you. There is another boy missing from the reservation and they are out looking for him. They all gathered back here very early this morning to eat and then head back out. Jake didn't want to wake you."

"Oh, no, I hope that they find him," I said earnestly, "thanks for letting me know."

"I'll call again when I hear anything," Emily said and I thanked her gratefully. I told my family what was going on when I got to the kitchen.

"I wonder if we should offer our help again," Emmett asked.

"I don't think we should" said Edward," not with those other wolves there. Jacob was not sure what they knew about vampires."

Rosalie chimed in," Well, surely they know about vampires if they changed to werewolves."

"That was one of the things Jacob was curious and somewhat suspicious about this tribe," Carlisle told the others, "He asked me to research our knowledge of werewolves. We have not met other vampires that have come across them." That surprised me. Jacob hadn't mentioned any particular suspicions to me.

Two days passed and everyone was worried about the little boy. Jake had called me one time when he had gone home to rest. I could hear the exhaustion and anxiety in his voice. "We've looked everywhere, Ness. Tomorrow we'll move farther south," he said, "I miss you."

"Miss you too, Jake. Get some rest, OK. Night," I said and hung up the phone.

That night, Jake showed up at our door with the little boy in his arms. Jake looked exhausted and he had scratches all over him. He and Colleen had found the boy far south in the forest down a steep embankment. Carlisle rushed out of the house and took the boy in the house. He got him stabilized and with Jacob, he drove him to the hospital. Jacob returned an hour later.

"He's doing fine now," Jacob sighed. The Cullen's were in the living room. They had been getting ready to go hunting before we left for Italy. Carlisle had called also and he was going to meet the others in a few hours.

Jake was already asleep on the couch. I kissed everybody goodbye and then got Jacob a blanket. I curled up on the other couch and pretty soon I was dreaming about the vampires in black cloaks. There was a fountain and 3 cloaked figures were coming toward me. They floated next to me, grabbed my arms and I started floating away with them. I looked around for someone to help me but there was no one there. There was a castle and we were going into a large cavern on the side. Fear griped me and I opened my mouth to scream but no sound came out, at least in my dream.

Next thing I knew Jacob was leaning over me and shaking my arm. "Ness, wake up, honey. You're having a bad dream," he said softly. He sat down next to me and swept the hair out of my face. "Are you OK?" Jacob asked me.

I shook my head. The dream was becoming just a blur now and I couldn't remember why I had been so afraid. I tried to think about what had happened but it was gone.

Jake picked me up and we started upstairs. He laid me on my bed. He turned toward the door and that triggered the feeling of fear. "Don't leave me, Jake," I pleaded. He paused at the door.

"I hope I don't lose some limbs over this," he half smiled. He lay down beside me and wrapped his arms around me. I closed my eyes but minutes passed and I wasn't able to get back to sleep.

I whispered, "Jacob, are you sleeping."

There was no answer and I turned toward him. His eyes were closed. I studied his face for a moment and then kissed his jaw, down his neck to his collarbone to the middle of his chest. Then my trail went down to his naval. Umm, I loved his abs, kissing them again.

The room seemed too quiet then and I raised my head to see Jacob staring at me. He pulled me up to his face and we looked to each other for a long minute as he caressed my face. His lips touched me and my arms went about his neck. The sleep shirt I was in knotted about my waist. Jake took one hand and pulled it over my head. He kept my arms pinned over my head with one hand while the other traveled down my side making me shiver. His lips touched my collarbone as he murmured, "my turn," and started a his descent.

Sunlight streamed in my window as I squinted at the clock. 10 a.m. I stretched and sighed. Jacob's arm was thrown over me and I turned into him. "Jake," I said in a whisper as I shook his arm, "Jacob, we should get up. I don't know what time my family will be home." Jacob just pulled me closer to him and kissed my neck and then my lips lightly.

"You OK?" Jake asked looking at my face closely.

I blushed and smiled," yes, I'm great," and kissed him back.

"I'm getting in the shower," I said as I got out of bed, "and then I'll make you breakfast." Yummmmm was all I heard and I chuckled as I knew he was asleep again.

As I was finished up the eggs and sausage, Jake came down with his sweats on and a towel around his neck. His hair was still damp and I loved the way it curled just slightly on his upper back.

"Smells good," he said," but why do you guys have all these eggs in the fridge? " He looked puzzled.

I shrugged," my mom still likes the tastes of eggs." Jake grinned.

"Geez, that is all she would eat when she was pregnant with you. Well, besides blood."

"Ewwwww," I laughed.

Jake was still downing the eggs when my family came home. "How was hunting?" I asked.

"Good, fine," said Edward distractedly and I could tell he was staring at Jacob. Oh, boy, I thought. Jacob must have been thinking the same thing as he got up then and took his plate to the sink.

"I had better go and see what they have found out about this disappearance," Jake told me," when are you leaving for Italy?"

"Three days," I said sadly.

Jake put his arms around me and tilted my head up," I'll call you later, OK?" He kissed me lightly on the lips and left.

Carlisle stopped Jacob on his way out. "Jake, I wanted to ask you something. On the last boy, did you notice any odd marks?" Jake thought for a minute.

"Now that you say that, they both had two little puncture marks on their arms. Why?"

"This boy did too," Carlisle said frowning," I just can't figure out what they mean. None of them were in the same place."

"I'm going to meet Sam this morning and I will see if he has any ideas," Jake said.

"Let me know if you guys have any ideas, OK?" Carlisle said in a worried voice.

"Sure, sure," Jacob said. When he had one hand on the door, Jacob turned and looked toward Carlisle with a slightly embarrassed look on his face. "Doc, I know I should know the answer to this by now but those marks wouldn't be, huh, from vampire bites."

Carlisle started laughing and smiled a big toothy grin. "No fangs here, Jacob," he said amused. Jacob blushed, grinned back and left.

"Ness's got a boyfriend, Ness's got a boyfriend," Emmett sang. I threw the dish towel at his head. You could always count on Emmett to lighten the mood.

But my boyfriend didn't call later that day or the next. I was worried and starting to get angry. You don't sleep with a girl, promise to call and then don't without her starting to think some very angry thoughts. I finally called Billy but no one answered which worried me even more.

The second day with no call, I called over to Emily's. She told me that they had found some clues to the last boy's disappearance and we out. I felt just a smidge better after talking with her. We were leaving in tomorrow for Italy and I really wanted to see him. Alice had seen us coming back but the dreams with the cloaked figures were still happening every night.

Jake did call that day. In a very curt voice, he told me he would be coming over tonight around 9 and then hung up. I sighed. I guessed he was just busy and preoccupied with all that was going on at the reservation. I wished he could be here earlier so we could spend more time together but I was so relieved I was going to see him before I left.

My suitcase was open on the bed and I was standing in the closet debating what to take. What you wore when you visited the most powerful vampire coven in the world, I thought ruefully. It most likely didn't matter what you wore on the outside but how tasty you were on the inside, I said to myself, laughing nervously.

I turned to look at my bedside clock and then out the window. Jacob should be here any minute. Stepping to the window, I looked toward the drive but didn't see headlights. Something moved off to my right. Jacob, I thought excitedly and ran down the stairs to meet him. There was no one on the porch and I called out," Jacob?"

No answer but again something seemed to move into the shadows on the right near the trees. "Jake," I said again as I wandered toward the trees. A slight way into the trees, I froze. There were Jacob and Colleen standing naked in the clearing.

Naked, why in the hell were they naked, my mind ground out. I was about ready to take an angry step forward when Colleen reached up and ran her arm down Jacob's arm. Almost at the same moment, Jacob lifted the side of her hair and bent his head to her neck. Oh, my, God, I thought, he is kissing her neck. I wanted to run to them and scream. I wanted to run back home but my feet wouldn't do either. My brain had ground to a complete halt.

Colleen spoke in a husky voice," we are good together, Jake. We would be perfect mates."

Mates? I said to myself. Oh, God, soul mates, they must have figured out they are soul mates. Jacobs description of imprinting ran through my brain. Jacob spoke in a low voice that I couldn't hear and then he smiled widely and Colleen threw back her head and laughed. She reached up and threw her arms around his neck. That broke the spell for me. I was horrified and heartbroken. My feet finally seemed to work and I ran back to the house. I didn't see Jacob push Colleen's arms off him or the dirty look she threw him as she phased and ran away.

When I got home, I bolted up the stairs. I nearly slammed into my mom. "Mom," I said breathlessly," can we leave tonight? I just want to go and get this over with. I can't take another night of those dreams. " I was pacing agitated in the hall.

"Renesmee, sure we can leave now. Whatever you want, honey." My mom was the one I was sure would buy my excuse about the dreams. Apparently she had them for a long time after she met the Volturi. After what I just saw, the Volturi seemed a welcome escape.

Bella told the others and we were packed and on our way to the airport in 20 minutes. The entire drive I shifted in my seat, restless. I didn't want to look into the eyes of my family but every time I stared out at the darkness all I saw was Jacob and Colleen in an embrace. My emotions cycled by the minute from fury to despair. How could he do this to me? How?

The flight was uneventful. We stayed in a beautiful restored palazzo for a day to get our bearings and let me recover from the flight. The next day we rented huge silver Mercedes SUV and drove to Volterra. "Let me do the talking, Renesmee," Edward said in a calm voice which I knew he didn't feel as my mom kept rubbing his arm and throwing glances at him. "And don't let Aro touch you, if at all possible. That is how he can read your thoughts."

"OK," I said quietly.

"And don't touch him, if he doesn't ask you to show your talent," Edward said again anxiously.

"Mmm," was all I could get out. I'm sure that Aro would ask me about this. My special "talent" was that I could show people things in from my own head if I touched their head or neck. Mainly memories or things I had seen and done. The Volturi knew that I could do this from when they came to Forks after I was born.

As we drove through the gates, it struck me how beautiful it was here. Jane and Dimitri met us outside the castle at dusk. My nightmares had come to life as they stepped out of the shadows in the long black cloaks.

"Welcome," Jane said in a lovely voice. I could see my mom cringe just a little and my dad pulled us both closer. They turned and we followed them down a dark alley and then into a little hole where we slide down a large pipe and came to land in a small cavern. Eventually Jane led us to a large elaborately carved wooden door. She reached for the heavy iron knocker and let it fall 3 times. A thin somewhat reedy voice called for us to enter.

In large velvet covered chairs sat Aro, Caius and Marcus. Their wives sat in another corner talking. Jane and Dimitri went to stand behind the 3 elder vampires. Aro stood, threw out his hands and moved forward.

"Welcome, welcome. Ah, you have brought them all for a visit, Carlisle." He grasped Carlisle's hand and kissed his cheek. I stared at Aro. His face did seem impossibly pale and thin, just as my mother described.

"And here is our baby girl," he crooned as he drifted toward me. He took both of my hands in his and held them out as if to look at me. "What a beautiful child you have created," he said to Bella and Edward. My chin rose just a little at the word child but I kept silent. Aro was quiet and still for just a moment. He gave a little shrug after a moment and said," I cannot read you. You take after your mother. Do you still possess your other little talent?"

I looked toward my father then. Edward stared at me for a long moment and then nodded. I touched Aro's cheek with one hand and thought of the view out my plane window as we were landing, seeing the little house and hills. It seemed the most benign thing to show him.

Aro smiled at me. "What a wonderful talent, my dear. It is so very interesting to see through young eyes again." We spent the day talking with Aro and the others. None of them seemed as interested in me as Aro. In truth, I found him fascinating.

The 3rd day, my family was growing impatient to go home. They needed to hunt again but did not want to bring that up to the Italians.

"My friend," Carlisle said to Aro that evening, "We must get back."

Aro's face fell for a brief moment, "I was hoping that you would all stay longer or better yet, decide to join our little coven." He looked hopeful and menacing at the same time.

Home, that word just brought a sick feeling to my stomach and a naked Jacob and Colleen flashed before my eyes. As my family was murmuring their decline of Aro's offer, I said more to myself than to anyone, "I don't want to go home."

My family's head snapped to look at me and my father hissed. It startled me and I looked up, not actually realizing I said that out loud.

Aro looked ecstatic and clapped his hands and said,"Oh, this is wonderful, wonderful, Renesmee."

"Could we please have a minute alone?" Carlisle asked in a calm voice.

"Certainly, take some time to say your goodbyes," Aro replied and nodded toward the others in the room.

"Are you insane?" my dad said to me inches from my face.

I gave a little shrug," they have been nothing but kind to me and well, I never really fit in at home, at school I mean." They all looked at each other, puzzled. I was making this up as I went along now. I wasn't going to tell them the real reason.

Alice quickly said," Jasper and I will stay with her. Just for a few weeks, Renesmee, right? Then we will come home."

"Sure," I said in a flat voice, thinking a few weeks was vague enough for now.

My mom took my arm and pleaded," Renesmee you can't want to stay here." I looked away from her. I couldn't stand the look in her eyes.

"I'll be fine, Mom. Really. Especially with Alice and Jasper," I said with more confidence than I felt, "I can work on my talent."

The door opened and Jane and Dimitri entered. Jane smiled at us," We have come to escort you to outside of the city." Her voice was so lovely but it still sounded somewhat sinister to me. Butterflies started in my stomach. Maybe I was completely insane to stay here.

"Alice and Jasper are staying too," Edward said in a snarling voice.

"How lovely," Jane said was a look on her face that told me it wasn't lovely at all. Then she stepped a few steps toward Jasper and smiled widely.

Alice snarled but Jane just laughed. "We need to go now, unless you want to stay for lunch?" Her eyebrows raised and Dimitri let out a booming laugh.

I hugged mom, dad, Emmett, Rosalie, Grandma Esmee and Grandpa Carlisle as tightly as I could. I was fighting off tears.

From another door, one of Aro's guards stepped into the room. "Aro wishes you to visit him in the library," he said nodding in my directions. I swallowed hard and walked toward him. Aro spent the rest of the day with me, telling me many stories from when he first became a vampire and then when he met Grandpa Carlisle. I knew that he was trying to take my mind off my family leaving. This is how the next few days went. I rarely saw Alice and Jasper. I think Aro was keeping them away from me on purpose.

Edward and the rest of the Cullen's left Volterra but went back to the palazzo outside the city.

"We can't leave her here," Bella said pleadingly to Edward. Edward agreed but he had no ideas of how to get Renesmee out of here.

"Why would she choose this?" Esmee said to the room at large. None of them knew or had any ideas.

"Is it school?" Rosalie pondered.

"It was probably those wolves," Edward ground out. He was thinking of one wolf in particular.

"I doubt that," Carlisle said putting his hand on Edward's shoulder, "You know Jacob adores her." Edward expression said he knew nothing of the sort.

The next day while plans were being discussed to take Renesmee home, they got a visit from Felix and Alex. "Its lovely that you want to stay in our country and your are more than welcome to come back to Volterra. Otherwise, you need to head back to the States. We will escort you either way." The meaning was made clear and after a brief discussion with Alice that nothing seemed wrong with Renesmee; the Cullen's reluctantly boarded a plane home.

The second week in Italy, Marcus had come across a relatively young vampire named Declan who had a unique talent of manipulating the weather. Aro sent me with Declan one day to a large lake in the mountains.

There was a sailboat there and Declan was to practice his talent. Aro wanted me to show him what occurred when we returned. Declan told me that he was only 6 years old. He was Scottish and had been on a boat with friends when a storm came up and the boat capsized. His friends on the boat drown but he was able to grab a life vest that floated near him from the boat. He fell asleep and when he awoke there was a beautiful woman pulling him onto the shore. She bit him then.

He stayed with her for 4 years and then she had left him. He had been traveling all over Europe when Marcus met him. He was very good with manipulating some parts of the weather but wind was harder for him. He did manage to set the boat sailing and eventually we were flying across the water. This was new for me and I was enjoying myself.

Alice and Jasper joined me for supper one night. The Italian vampires had thought it hilarious that I preferred human blood but did not hunt for it. However, I found my blood packets in my room every few days. I introduced Declan to Alice and Jasper. Most of the time, I felt content here and Jake only filled my dreams at night. How ironic that the subject of my nightmares had completely reversed.

Declan and I spent nearly every day together. Aro sent us all over the continent. When we came back, I would show him our adventures. Declan was practicing his weather manipulation.

One weekend we went to meadow at the base of a mountain. Declan wanted to experiment with lightening. He started getting some thunder clouds to roll in. In frustration, he dropped beside me on the grass where I had been watching him. "This is more difficult than I thought," he complained.

"Well, I think if we wait for a little while those clouds you brought are going to start a decent storm," I pointed out. The clouds were becoming a dark gray now. Declan looked like his mind was far away.

"Penny for your thoughts," I teased.

"I was just thinking of the storm that caused my boat to capsize. I hope there aren't any lakes near here," he said scanning the area.

"Do you regret what happened to you?" I asked curiously. He twirled a blade of grass in his hands for a moment.

"No, not really," he said seriously," I do miss my friends and Elizabeth though."

Elizabeth was the vampire that had made him. I knew that he had fallen in love with her and he thought she had felt the same about him. During their travels, they had met another coven of vampires. Elizabeth had been seduced by an older vampire. Declan was furious and he decided to leave her. I had already told him all about Jacob and Colleen so we had something else in common.

He looked so sad then that I put my arms around him. Maybe he could go home with me and be part of my family. Discussing that with Alice and Jasper was put on my mental to-do list.

His arm went around my shoulders and when he turned his face toward me, I kissed him. We both blinked for a minute and then kissed again. His lips were cool and hard, very unlike Jacob's. I viciously shoved that thought to the back of my mind. Dimly I was aware that there wasn't that electricity like I had with Jacob. Declan's kiss didn't stop my mind from working as Jacob's had either. But this felt good and right.

Lightening struck 20 feet away and we both laughed still hugging. Declan stood then and tried to place the lightening where he wanted it. After several tries, he was able to do it. Rain lashed down on us now and he scooped me up and ran, changing us into a blur.

Reaching the castle, I slid out of his arms, soaking wet. Trying to be as quiet as we could, he took my hand and we went to his room. He took a shirt and a towel out of his closet and handed them to me. "What a day!" he exclaimed excitedly, "I got the lightening thing down and kissed a beautiful woman."

That he thought I was a woman and not a child made me happy. My head was bent over as I toweled off my hair. When I looked up, Declan was in front of me.

"Here let me help you," he murmured reaching for my wet shirt. Slowly I raised me arms, my eyes never leaving his and he pulled off the t-shirt, tossing it onto the floor. "You're beautiful, Ness, " he breathed quietly.

My mind was going in a hundred different directions. Jacob's face flashed into focus and my heart squeezed. Then Colleen and her smug little smile came along side and I was sure I growled out loud. Declan looked at me quizzically. I looked back into his eyes then and put my arms around his neck, kissing him fiercely. He didn't kiss me back for one moment but then returned the ferocity. He carried me to the bed and stroked my skin. I wanted to be reckless. I wanted to not think about what I was doing but when we were all but naked, panic filled me.

"Stop, Declan. Stop," I whispered. His smile faded when he looked at me. "I'm not ready for this," I said apologetically, "not yet."

He knew what I meant--not this soon after Jacob. He nodded and just held me. "We have forever to get to know each other, Ness." That thought nearly did stop my heart-- forever without Jacob.

Alice and Jasper seemed to find nothing shocking about the change in mine and Declan's relationship. I brought up taking Declan home to Forks with us. Both of them seemed really pleased. I think it was more that I had mentioned going home.

Jasper decided he would talk to him about the "vegetarian" lifestyle that they lead and see how Declan felt about this. Jasper was able to find Declan alone one evening. "Ness has mentioned you coming to the States with us when we leave," he said casually.

"She feels sorry for me," Declan said with a half smile," she worries that I have no home, no family."

"Her feelings seem a little more than just pity to me," Jasper laughed.

"Maybe," Declan agreed, "I'm hoping. She has been good for me."

Jasper's eyes narrowed a little when he looked at Declan's face. "You know she is half human, right? You have to be careful with her." Jasper said in a stern tone.

"We are taking it slow," Declan said coolly, "but she knows how to handle herself."

Jasper stared at him again wishing Alice was here to help him read this situation. Shrugging, Jasper detailed what it would mean to live in Forks as a vampire, hoping that this would all turn out OK. He couldn't imagine bringing home a brokenhearted daughter to Edward or Bella. He would have hell to pay. Declan sounded interested in the Cullen's unusual lifestyle. Jasper had noticed that Declan didn't participate in the Italians little feeding parties as often as many others did. This seemed like a positive sign to Jasper and he would mention it to Carlisle when they spoke again.

Rome was our next destination. Declan had been there before with Elizabeth. I had been researching things to see. The car we borrowed from Aro's huge stable of cars was a silver maserati. Declan drove it fast and a little crazy.

We reached Rome in no time. The day happened to be sunny but Declan took care of that, bringing thick gray clouds to the area. We started with the Coliseum. It was huge and we both mused about what it would have been like in those days to be the spectators, the lions and the victims.

From there we moved to the Spanish steps, the Sistine Chapel and the Trevi fountain. Declan handed me a coin and we tossed them over our shoulder into the fountain. He held my hands and kissed me lightly on the lips, saying "Now we are guaranteed to come here again together."

I smiled at that. Saving the best for last, we walked to Villa Borghese. There was a little boat dock and we rowed around lazily. There were few people there due to the weather. I looked up at the clouds sprinkling raindrops now.

"You must be giving the weathermen fits." I told him. Declan laughed and agreed. Once, he rowed as fast as he could and caused a huge whirlpool. "Stop," I cried, "I am getting seasick." He stopped but saw that I was giggling too.

"This has been a perfect day," I sighed and laid my head in Declan's lap.

"Yes," he agreed stroking my hair.

I wanted to bring something up. "Have you been sitting outside my door at night?" I asked him. He looked guilty and nodded. "Why?" I puzzled.

"Some of the guards were snooping near your door at night. I think you smell a little too delicious," he said smiling with one corner of his mouth. I gave him a weak smile but that did make me a little afraid.

"Thanks for looking out for me. You could have told me," I said. He shrugged.

The wind was picking up a little, not due to Declan, so we decided to head home. It was after midnight when we got to my room. "Let me change and then come in," I told him.

When I opened my door he was there with a stack of books. "What are you doing with those?" I nodded toward the books.

"I read them," he said dryly, "They are books on meteorology. I figure if I knew some of the science behind weather patterns and such, maybe my talent would be more effective."

"Wow, I'm impressed," I told him.

He reminded me of Grandpa Carlisle so much, inquisitive and science minded. This made me homesick. I checked my computer and found an email from Anna. She thought I was doing a semester of school in Europe due to my family.

In her one email, she had asked about Jacob and me. I told her he was going out with someone else. She responded in her next email with all the appropriate slams to him and the other girl which made me smile. I missed hashing stuff over with her.

When I opened her new email, she asked if I had met any hunky Italian boys yet. My glance went to Declan who was reading intently on my bed. Not Italian but Scottish, I typed out and told her just a little about him. I attached a picture of Declan and I in front of a sailboat. Maybe Anna would pass along that I had a new guy in my life and Jacob would hear about it, I mused bitterly.

On a whim I added a P.S to the email, "Have you seen Jacob around?" As I scanned my other email, I noticed that he had not sent one the entire time I was here. This made me angry and more than a little hurt. Mom and Dad's email never mentioned him either.

I closed my email and went to snuggle with Declan on the bed. He put the book down and held me against his chest. "Stay in here tonight,OK?" I said sleepily, remembering what he had said about those other vampires coming near my door.

"Sure, love," he said, stroking my hair.

"Why is it that you can resist my blood so easily or really most human blood, for that matter," I queried.

"Umm, I'm not sure," he said thoughtfully, "Elizabeth thought maybe it was because of my gift. I have some control over the weather so possibly I can exert control over my thirst better than most."

"Makes sense to me," I said yawning.

"Sleep now. You'll be safe," Declan murmured and kissed my forehead. Closing my eyes, I did feel safe. Declan made me feel safe and warm. There wasn't the electricity or the heat that had been between Jacob and I. But warmth was nearly as good, right?

A little more than a month had passed when Jacob showed up at the Cullen's. He let himself into and walked into the living room. He scanned the room quickly.

"Who died?" he said jokingly. All eyes went to him but no one looked amused. "Whoa, what's up? Where's Ness?" he said in a worried voice.

"In Italy," Bella said sadly.

"Italy, what are you guys doing here then?" Jacob asked.

"She decided to stay there. Do you have any reason why she would not want to come home?" Edward glowered at him.

"You mean you left her there? With those monsters," Jacob yelled incredulous. All sort of thoughts went through his mind. One was an image of Ness pregnant. He had been worrying about that since the night they spent together.

Edward's eyes widen with rage as he read Jacob's thoughts. There was a loud snarling sound and Edward leapt toward Jacob. Emmett and Carlisle flew across the room and grabbed Edward around the chest. They still struggled to restrain him. Jacob did look embarrassed.

Bella came and put a hand on Edward's arm. "Stop, Edward. We have all felt that same way," she chided him.

"You didn't hear his thoughts, Bella. He was wondering if she is......,"Edward hesitated, "they went a little too far and he wonders about the consequences." Snarling now came from more than one vampire in the room as Edwards meaning sank in.

"I love her, dammit. I am going over there and bringing her home," Jacob shouted over the noise, his hands balling into fists. The phone rang, startling them all. Edward opened the phone.

"What, Alice?" he bit out. "I don't know. We haven't made any plans," Edward said, throwing furious looks at Jacob. "Yes, I am sure we can arrange that. No, I will not bring that DOG!" Edward snarled, "Fine, fine, Alice."

Edward snapped the phone closed. "Apparently Alice's vision of us and Ness just disappeared-- 10 days from now. She found out that Aro will be sending Ness to a Regatta. Alice wants us to meet them there and she thinks we can convince Ness to come home. She wants us to bring the dog," Edward said looking at Jacob in disgust.

"I'm not waiting 10 more days," Jacob shouted toward Edward.

"I should let you go alone so the Italian vampires can eat you for breakfast but I think Alice has a point. They won't be able to see us coming if we have you with us." Edward said flatly. No one spoke for a few minutes.

Then Bella asked, "Jake, where have you been? Why are just now looking for Ness?" That got everyone's attention again.

"Long story," Jacob mumbled. "We've got 10 whole days," Emmett said grinning.

Jacob stared out the large glass window at the back of the house. "I was coming here the night before you all left for Italy. Colleen stopped me in the forest. She wanted to have me, Sam, and some of the others from the pack join her. The real reason that she, Trey and Dane were here was because they had been ousted from their tribe. These 3 had been using their werewolf strength to extort the other tribe members. When one of the new wolves in their pack caught on, they fought. It must of been a hell of a fight because it is very hard to go against your alpha but the 4 other wolves won and made Colleen and her henchmen leave. They had just heard about our pack no long before the fight and decided to contact us. It had been years since any of their members had changed. They were worried. On top of that Colleen noticed that Dane seemed to have more trouble changing and could do it less often. They wanted to see how we had come to have such a large pack. What a conversation that would have been, huh?" Jacob mused.

"I suppose fewer vampires travel down to New Mexico due to the sun," Carlisle speculated.

"Go on, Jacob," Bella encouraged.

"OK, where was I. We had all refused to leave with Colleen or be her stud for her pack. She thought that maybe her tribe had married outsiders too often and that was part of the problem," Jacob explained. "She was pissed off and they kidnapped Billy, Emily and Kim."

Esmee and Bella gasped. "Are they OK?"Bella asked quickly.

"Yes, we found them eventually but it took a long time. Colleen was smart. She, Trey and Dane didn't phase. They kidnapped them as humans and took them half way across the country, to North Dakota. It's harder to follow their trail as humans." Jacob turned his head toward Carlisle, "They were the ones who took all those boys from our reservation too. Carlisle, those marks we talked about were from their wolf teeth. I was so close to figuring it out," Jacob snarled as he slammed his fist against his thigh.

"When we were at a party one night, I was bandaging Colleen's finger and I smelled that odd scent that we were finding on the trails of the boys. It made me curious and I was starting to put two and two together. They were marking the boys and were going to take them to join their pack. Trey and Dane felt our pack was too strong in the end and so they decided to kidnap our families to get us to come with them." Jacob said.

"Where are they now?" asked Rosalie.

"In pieces, all over the hills of North Dakota," Jacob smiled savagely. Heads nodded in approval.

"So now what?" Emmett asked looking from face to face. "We leave for Italy in 8 days," Edward said glaring at Jacob.

"I AM coming with you," Jacob declared, glaring back at Edward. Edward said nothing for a long moment and then nodded yes.


End file.
